Process of manufacturing shields



March 9, 1943. F. HlMMEL ETAL 2,313,236

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING SHIELDS Filed June 25, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 9, 1943.

F. HIMMEL ETAL 2,313,236 PROCESS OF-MANUFACTURING SHIELDS.

Filed June 25, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 9, 1943 Umrso- FFEC PROCESS OF MANUFACTURAENG SHIELDS necticut Application June 25, 1941, Serial No. 899,744

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in processes of manufacturing shields or plates from strip-sheet material, and more particularly relates to processes of manufacturing shields or plates for use in expansion-joints of pavements from strip-sheet material having a main faceportion and one or more longitudinal channels.

One object of this invention is to provide an improved process of manufacturing shields from strip-sheet material having one or more longitudinal channels therein, by severing the shields from the strip and crushing down the ends of the channels so as to close the ends of the channels of the shields at the time of severing them from the trip material.

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure, this invention includes all features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of the present disclosure, in which one way of carrying out the invention is shown for illustrative purposes:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View illustratingone mechanism or machine for carrying out the invention;

Fig. 2 is a left side elevation of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 isa longitudinal vertical sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 1, showing the cutter at an intermediate stage of its operation;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but with the cutter in its final stage of operation;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional viewon line 5-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 i a perspective view of the strip material from which the shields or plates are to be cut;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the shields which is made from the strip material;

Fig. 9 is a fragmental perspective view of a portion of the machine, illustrating the cutting-edges of the supports or fixed cutters; and

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the cutter or cutterblade.

In the description and claims, the various parts and steps are identified by specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be as generic in their application as the prior art Will permit.

Referring to the drawings, the particular form of strip material it illustrated (Fig. '7) from which the shields or plates H (Fig. 8) are to be made, is a general channel form and has a main faceportion comprising three longitudinal face-sections I2, l3 and Hi, and longitudinal channels 15 and it, each of which channels has a backportion ll spaced back from the general plane of the main face-portions l2, l3 and Hi. 'The opposite longitudinal edge-portions i8 and. 19 of the strip 50 extend transversely of the main face portion. Where the shields or plates are to be used in expansion-joints in pavementsg as, for example, is illustrated in PatentsNos. 2,104,371, 2,222,970 and 2,223,083, they may, for example, be made of ordinary sheet steel.

In order tomanufacture shields or plates H. (Fig. 8) from the strip material I t efiiciently and economically, applicants have devised a process by which each pair of the ends 2%, El, 22 and 23 of the longitudinal channels 15 and [.6 at the rear end of a completedshield and at the front end of the following next-to-be-made shield, are crushed down to close the channels, at. the time that a shield is severed from the strip of ma terial, and without objecticnably distortingother portions of the shield. I

The particular mechanism illustrated for car rying out applicants process comprises a cutting apparatus having a base .24 to which is secured a pair of spaced-apart supports or fixed cutters 25 and 26 by mean of screws 21. The supports 25 and 26 respectively have flat upper supportingfaces 28 and 29 and straight upper cutting-edges 3i! and 3!. Extending down respectively from the upper cutting edges 38 and 31 are pairs of spaced-apart transverse cutting-edges 39623917 and 31a, 311).

A pair of links 32, 33 have their lower ends pivoted at 34 to the base 24, and have their upper ends pivoted at 35 to the left end of a cutter or cutter-blade 36. The other end of the. cutter 35 is pivoted to an eccentric pin 31 of a studshaft 38 pivoted at so to the base 24. A bushing 4!) is secured to the stud-shaft 38 in any suitable way as by means of a set-screw M. An operating-lever 2 is threadedly or otherwise secured to the bushing M3.

The cutter 36 has a pair of upper cuttingedges 63 and M to respectively cuttingly. cooperate with the upper cutting-edges 3E) and 3| of the supports 25 and 2t. Extending down respectively from the upper cutting-edges t3 and M are pairs of spaced-apart transverse cutting-edges 43a, 53?} and Ma, Mb. The cutting-edges 43a, 43b, 44a and 44b respectively cuttingly cooperate with the cutting-edges 3%, 38b, 31a and 31b of the supports 25 and 26.

In operation, with the cutting-mechanism in the position illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, after a narrow transverse section is first cut from the strip l near its front end to crush down the front ends of the channels 15 and Hi to close the front ends of the channels of the first full length shield to be made, the strip material I8 is fed in any usual way, such for example as toward the left of Fig. l as indicated by the arrow on Fig. 1, until the strip material engages -a stop (not shown) to determine the length of a shield to be out, whereupon the operating-lever 42 is swung from its position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 toward the :position shown in Fig. 4, where the left portion of the cutting-edges 43 and 44 and the cutting-edges 43a and 44a cooperate with the corresponding portions of cutting-edges 30, 3|, 30a and 31a of the supports 25 and 25 to sever a portion of the transversely-extending longitudinal edge-portion l8 and the face-portion I2 to crush down a portion of the back-portion ll of channel l5. Continned movement of the lever 42 to its final position shown in Fig. 5 successively cuts through the face-portion l3, crushes down and cuts through the back-portion I! of the channel 16, and as the lever 42 swings through the final portion of its movement to the position shown in Fig. 5, the eccentric pin 31 swings in a downward and leftward direction so as to cause the cutting-edges 43b and 44b to cut through the transversely-extending longitudinal edge-portion l9, and the right end-portions 43c and 440 respectively of the cutting-edges 43 and 44 to cut through the face-portion l4 while the cutter 36 is moving toward the left of Fig. 5. Thus, it will be seen that the transverse edge-portion I8 is severed by the cuttingedges 43a and 4411 while they are moving toward the right, and the transverse edge-portion I9 is severed by the cutting-edges 43b and 441) while they are moving toward the left, thus avoiding objectionable distortion of these transverse edgeportions l8 and I9, by cutting the portion l8 in a direction toward the transverse supporting-face portions 28a, 29a and cutting the portion IS in a direction toward the transverse supporting-face portions 28b, 29b. 1

Thus, it will be seen that the cutter 36 severs a narrow transverse cut-out section 45 from the strip in, to thus sever and properly crush down portions of the back-portions ll of the channels l5 and 16 adjacent and on opposite sides of the cutter 36, so that asthe strip material is successively fed to positions against a stop (not shown) to determine the proper length of the shields or [plates to be manufactured, the rear end of the completed shield and the front end of the following next-to-be-made shield, are simultaneously severed by the single operation of the cutter 36, and the ends of the channels are crushed down to close them.

The invention -may be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characte'ristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

We claim:

1. The process of manufacturing shields from strip-sheet material having a main face-portion and one or more longitudinal channels each having a back-portion spaced back from the general plane of said main face-portion and having its opposite longitudinal edge-portions extending transversely of said main face-portion, comprising: supporting said main face-portion and said longitudinal edge-portions of said strip against a support which has cutting-edge means transversely spanning said channels; moving an elongated cutter having a cutting-edge adapted to cooperate with said cutting-edge means in the general plane of said cutter in a direction toward said support and thereby crushing down portions of said back-portions adjacent said cutter and closing the ends of said channels and cutting said main face-portion;,moving said cutter in its general plane in a direction transverse to said firstmentioned direction of movement and thereby cutting one of said longitudinal edge-portions; and moving said cutter in its general plane in a direction generally opposite to said second-mentioned direction of movement and thereby cutting the other of said longitudinal edge-portions; thus severing a shield from said strip.

2. The process of manufacturing shields from strip-sheet material having a main face-portion and one or more longitudinal channels each having a back-portion spaced back from the general plane. of said main face-portion and having its opposite longitudinal edge-portions extending transversely of said main face-portion, comprising: supporting said main face-portion and said longitudinal edge-portions of said strip against a pair of spaced-apart supports each of which has cutting-edge means transversely spanning said channels; moving an elongated cutter having cutting-edges adapted to cooperate with said cuttingedge means of said spaced-apart supports, in the general plane of said cutter in a direction toward said supports and thereby crushing down portions of said back-portions at opposite sides of said outter and closing the ends of said channels and cutting said main face-portion at opposite sides of said cutter; moving said cutter in its general plane in a direction transverse to said first-mentioned direction of movement and thereby cutting one of said longitudinal edge-portions at opposite sides of said cutter; and moving said cutter in its general plane in a direction generally opposite to said second-mentioned direction of 

